...Que's Cold Pressed (Biologico) Italian Olive Oil

Many of us know a good quality olive oil can make a world of difference in a dish. Not only can olive oil be used in the cooking process, but as a beautiful garnish. The numerous occasions which I've seen professional chefs drizzle olive oil over a dish as a finishing touch, says a lot about the way it can round out a dish, both in presentation and flavour. Luckily for us, we didn't have to go far to obtain some of the best quality olive oil out there...

I discovered recently that a colleague of mine happens to own Que Imports Ltd., which imports cold-pressed olive oil from the southwestern coast of Sicily. A happy coincidence, being the foodie that I am. I was immediately interested in trying the olive oil. Admittedly, we are not olive oil connoisseurs by any means, but the moment I tasted this olive oil and our PC (Superstore) brand extra virgin olive oil side by side, I could tell the difference. This olive oil has a distinctly buttery, almost nutty flavour that is slightly herbaceous. We enjoyed it so much, we decided to purchase another bottle and review it here on our blog.

The olive oil is cold-pressed, which means it is of the highest quality because the process is chemical free, categorized as "biologico" in Italy. The olives are grown, produced, and handpicked directly from the tree by the same family for several generations now. Picking the olives from the tree produces an oil with lower acidity and better taste. Olives that have fallen to the ground are much more acidic and can produce oil that can be rancid (= bad flavour!)

Using Que's olive oil, tonight we made grilled portabello mushrooms with carmelized onion and sun dried tomatoes over polenta. The buttery flavour of the olive oil helped to enhance the flavour of the mushrooms while they were on the grill. Not to mention, a drizzle of this olive oil on the polenta helped to blend together all the flavours of the dish. We'll be posting this recipe later, so check back soon.

Do you or someone on your holiday shopping list enjoy cooking? This authentic Italian, high quality, cold-pressed olive oil would be the perfect gift. They are currently selling two sizes of bottles: 750ml for $28.50 and a 375ml for $14.50. Que Imports, a Calgary based company, is in the process of setting up their website. For now, you can contact them via emanq@telus.net or their phone number 403-246-1145 for more information.